


Skateboard to the Heart

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: A World Without Ghosts [3]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon Gay Relationship, Cute, Dialogue Taken Directly From The Show, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, Gay Panic, Hot Dog Related Traumas, How Alex and Willie would have met if they were alive in 2020, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, Skateboarding, Willex owns my whole heart, but also the same, honestly there's very little angst, no ghosts, tell me I'm wrong, tell me they aren't emotionally scarred from the hot dogs and i'll prove you wrong, this can be read without the rest of the series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27255826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: His mind was just starting to feel better, he recognized, but it didn’t last long as he found himself suddenly on Hollywood Boulevard instead of just walking it.Alex had barely heard the shout of “Hey, watch out!”He groaned as something smacked into him and he fell to the ground hard. He could make out the outline of someone laying next to him as he winced at the pain in his wrist and knees. Whoever had run into him seemed to recover a lot quicker, launching himself to pick up something as Alex slowly stood back up.“Aw, man! Oh, you dinged my board!”---------Alex is having a stressful day, so he goes to clear his head. Unfortunately, he finds himself run into the ground when someone slams into him from behind. When that someone introduces himself, however, Alex thinks it may not be so unfortunate after all.OrIn a world where the boys are alive and well in 2020, this is how Alex and Willie meet. This can be read without reading the other parts of this series!
Relationships: Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: A World Without Ghosts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971316
Comments: 37
Kudos: 322





	Skateboard to the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> You might recognize that clearly, some of this dialogue isn't my own. I do not claim ownership for any of the writing from the show nor the characters!
> 
> Enjoy, my loves <3 
> 
> SIDE NOTE: if you're new here and haven't read the rest of the series, here's what to catch up on! About two months ago, Julie and the Phantoms was formed when the boys overheard Julie singing in a school practice room and asked her about joining a band with them! A month or so after, the boys all ended up in the hospital due to severe, severe food poisoning via hot dogs. They're all okay and out of the hospital now, getting back to their lives. And that's what you missed on A World Without Ghosts!

Considering all that had happened in the past year for the members of Julie and the Phantoms, things were incredibly well. The four of them had survived losing a parent, losing a mentor and their sense of identity, and eating what they were sure were the worst hot dogs in existence. The band had taken a small break from performing after Luke, Alex, and Reggie got out of the hospital. The four of them still got together almost daily to practice or write new songs, but since the boys had gone a few weeks feeling weakened and tired and all four of them were still trying to emotionally recover from the near-death experience, they thought a little time without getting on a stage would be healthy. 

It had now been a month and a half since The Hog Dog Incident, and they were ready to get back on stage. They’d perfected a new song- Finally Free, the boys felt fully back on their feet, and they had just booked a new gig. Everything seemed to be going just right.

So, really, Alex had no explanation as to why his brain was deciding to ruin it for him. Nothing was even wrong! The band was going great, he, Luke, and Reggie all felt fine, and he was  _ excited  _ to do the performance tomorrow night. 

Yet here he was, pacing a hole in the floor of the studio while Reggie and Luke sat on the couch watching him. 

When Julie had told her father about the boys and how they wanted her to join a band with them, he had immediately offered his late wife’s studio to them for a practice space. It was far more spacious and comfortable than Luke’s basement. The band had switched from spending all their time at Luke’s house or on the beach to being in Julie’s garage more often than they weren’t. Ray, who had already been so accepting and kind to them before they almost got killed by hot dogs and was even more affectionate and caring now, had given each of the boys a key to the garage. He told them that no matter what was going on in their lives- the “if your parents are fighting” to Reggie and “if you don’t feel comfortable at home” to Alex were left unsaid but still present- that the garage was a safe space for them. He’d never get mad if they needed to be there, no matter the day or time. 

Julie had really lucked out in the parent department. The only people who had ever been so supportive of them were Luke’s parents, and that had taken years of fighting and Luke almost running away before they gave in and agreed that their son’s music was something important and special. 

It was after school on Friday, and the gig was tomorrow. Julie hadn’t left school with them like usual; she had a club with Flynn on Fridays, but the boys all immediately went to the studio. The plan had been to do homework; they’d missed more than they cared to think about while in the hospital and recovering. The boys also didn’t care to think about the pure mortification felt when they walked into school those first few days back and knew they had been labeled with “Those are the guys who almost died eating hot dogs.” It’s not the best badge to wear. All three of them could see the plain, pure ridiculousness of the concept, but it was still too traumatic for them to even try to laugh about it. 

It was Alex who had derailed their after school homework plan when he’d thrown his backpack in the general direction of his drums- ignoring Reggie’s wince of “dude, your laptop”- and began pacing in the middle of the floor. He had felt jittery and uncomfortable all day. During lunch he’d been bouncing his leg incessantly, which had Julie gripping his knee to try and get him to stop shaking the entire table. His history teacher had called him out during the middle of the lecture because he’d absentmindedly turned two pencils into make-shift drum sticks and was tapping out Now or Never on his desk. He didn’t even bother to try and drive after school; he’d passed his keys to Luke, who had stood frozen for a minute just looking at him. Alex rarely ever let one of the other boys drive his car, even though they both had their license. 

Luke and Reggie had both recovered from their surprise at Alex’s actions pretty quickly; they had both picked up on Alex’s state of mind throughout the day. They knew his brain was bouncing off the walls with anxiety and that he couldn’t focus on much of anything if he even tried. Alex had more days like this than he liked to admit. Days where he just felt uncomfortable in his own skin and everything made him stressed or anxious. 

Luke and Reggie had been pretty much silent as Alex paced back and forth, their eyes following him like he was a tennis match. 

“I think he’s practicing his model strut,” he heard Reggie whisper to Luke, just loud enough that Alex could hear. He knew it had been on purpose; it was Reggie’s attempt to get a smile or laugh out of Alex. Comparing Alex’s pacing to a runway was a long standing joke that usually all of them would laugh at. But today Alex just kept going back and forth, wringing his hands together. 

“He’s so nervous he’s almost making me nervous,” Luke responded under his breath. 

Alex let out a deep breath. He didn’t know what to tell them. It wasn’t just one thing setting him off. He couldn’t pin down the reason he was feeling stressed like this if he tried. He forced himself to stop pacing, looking at his friends. 

“Shit, guys- I’m sorry, I don’t know why-”

“Alex, you know you don’t have to explain to us,” Reggie interrupted him gently, and Alex shot him a small but grateful smile. 

“I think I just need to go clear my head,” he breathed out, turning to walk towards the door of the garage. Behind him, he heard the sounds of Luke and Reggie scrambling to stand up from the couch. 

“Do you want us to come with you,” Luke asked quickly. Alex hesitated as he reached the door. 

Luke and Reggie were the best sources of comfort he’d ever had. He knew if he said yes, they wouldn’t be suffocating him or trying to get him to do something that would “distract” him. They would just be there, following along wherever his mind took him for support. He also knew that all of them had a minor sense of separation anxiety since the hot dogs. Unless they had to go to their individual homes, they barely left each other’s sight. It was a sweet offer for Luke to make. 

Alex sighed, “No. Thanks, though.”

He smiled at his best friends, then swiftly made his way out of the garage. Luke still had his car keys, which was fine because he’d probably accidentally crash if he tried to drive. He just started walking, not even knowing where he was going. He vaguely recognized that he’d ended up on Hollywood Boulevard when he saw families and tourists trying to get pictures with a girl dressed like Marilyn Monroe and some men dressed up like Ghostbusters. As he focused more on his surroundings, he took a deep breath. 

His mind was just starting to feel better, he recognized, but it didn’t last long as he found himself suddenly  _ on  _ Hollywood Boulevard instead of just walking it. 

Alex had barely heard the shout of “Hey, watch out!” 

He groaned as something smacked into him and he fell to the ground  _ hard _ . He could make out the outline of someone laying next to him as he winced at the pain in his wrist and knees. Whoever had run into him seemed to recover a lot quicker, launching himself to pick up something as Alex slowly stood back up. 

“Aw, man! Oh, you dinged my board!”

Alex had a clear look at the other now; it was a teenager, maybe just older than him, wearing a helmet and looking forlornly at the aforementioned skateboard. Alex scoffed a little. 

“I dinged your board- Dude, you  _ ran me over!  _ You’re lucky I didn’t. . . _ ”  _

Alex trailed off. “Break something” was the logical ending to that sentence, yet his brain and hot dog related traumas provided “die.” Well. That was a dramatic thought. Exactly what he needed today. 

The other, who was watching him with a small layer of concern, winced a little. He reached up, unclipping his helmet and pulling it off. As he shook his hair out, Alex’s mile-a-minute brain suddenly seemed to shut down. His thoughts were completely blank other than  _ oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.  _ The other teenager had long, soft looking, brown waves that fell nothing short of perfectly around his face and shoulders. Alex felt his mouth fall open a little as he could do nothing but stare at the guy. Shit, this was the cutest guy he had ever seen. Alex could feel his heart speeding up, and he knew it wasn’t from stress this time. It took him more than a minute to realize  _ you idiot, you’re staring _ , and he cleared his throat and shook his head a little to snap himself out of it. 

_ Cute, cute, cute, cute,  _ his brain provided anyway. Alex forced himself to look away, though his eyes almost immediately found the teenager again. 

“Hey, sorry I, uh, smashed into you,” the other said apologetically. “Some dog ran out in front of me, I was trying to not hit it. Guess I hit you instead.”

He gestured behind him, where Alex sure enough saw a dog being wrestled back into their leash by a small family. Alex nodded, his body still tense as he tried  _ really hard  _ not to stare. The other flashed him a half-smirk, half-smile and  _ oh my god,  _ if he ever looked at Alex like that again he might actually explode on the spot. 

“Hey, I’m, uh- I’m Willie.” He held out his hand towards Alex. 

On instinct, Alex took it and shook, instantly regretting it. How the hell were his hands so soft, holy crap. 

“Oh, uh, Alex,” the drummer responded after a moment, remembering that he had to, you know, act like a person instead of a complete fool. Willie smiled at him as Alex introduced himself, and the drummer refused to let his brain mourn the loss of the skater’s hand in his. 

“So, uh, what brings you to Hollywood, man? You sightseeing? Picture with that,” he made a clicking noise with his tongue and pumped his eyebrows suggestively as he gestured over his shoulder, “Marilyn girl?”

For a second, Alex just awkwardly laughed, looking down at the ground. It had been a while since he talked to someone who thought he was straight. It was no secret at school that Alex had absolutely no interest whatsoever in women. 

“Uh,” he started dumbly, “Actually, my friend doesn’t live too far away. I was just trying to clear my head, you know, until you tried to crack it open.”

He finished with a small smile, not sure where his brain had gotten enough functioning power to even make a joke. Willie laughed, though, becoming what seemed impossibly cuter as his shoulders raised and his eyes crinkled as he laughed. 

“Yeah, I did pancake you, huh?” Willie asked with a smile, which Alex returned shyly. 

Willie’s smile turned more serious, and he shook his head just a little. “Sorry. . . so, uh, clearing your head?” 

Alex sighed a little, nodding his head with a tight smile. “Yeah, I just. . . it’s been a day, I guess.”

Willie smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, I get that. Well, hey- there’s an ice cream shop just around the corner. What do you say you let me buy you a scoop? You know, to make up for running into you.”

Alex’s brain went temporarily offline again. Was that- Did he just- Alex told himself that he had to be imagining how Willie’s eyes did a quick trail up and down his body. And the flirty looking smile Willie was giving him seemed to be a permanent fixture since they’d gotten up- there was nothing to read into there, right? 

“Yeah, sure,” Alex found himself agreeing with a smile, his brain only wondering for a minute  _ what the hell he was doing. _

Willie smiled wider, dropping his skateboard to the ground. “Cool, but only if you can keep up.” 

With that he skated away, leaving Alex to blink at the space he’d just been for a moment before coming to his senses and running after him. After they made it to the shop Willie had mentioned and gotten their ice cream- which Willie did actually pay for- they found a small table right outside the shop to sit. 

As Alex took his first bite, Willie tilted his head a little and asked, “You want to talk about it at all? You know- why you needed to clear your head?”

The instinctual answer was no. He didn’t really have a proper answer anyway, and if he was going to talk about it with anybody, it made sense that it would be Luke or Reggie. Yet he found himself talking anyway. 

“It’s just- everything, I guess. I mean, ever since we got out of the hospital-”

Willie frowned, “Wait- what? Who’s we?”

Alex opened his mouth, closing it with a tight smile. Right. He had never met Willie before. So unlike everyone at school, he had no idea that Alex was practically glued to the side of Reggie and Luke, or about the hot dogs.

“Oh, uh- me and my bandmates.”

Willie nodded around a scoop of his ice cream. “And you guys were in the hospital? That sucks, man. What happened- did you guys have some sort of accident, or. . ?”

Alex opened his mouth, hesitating. With a deep exhale, he answered, “Yeah- Yeah, you could say that.”

His voice was raised to a higher pitch, as it usually became when Alex wasn’t quite sure how to talk his way out of something. Luke and Reggie teased him relentlessly for it, though they found themselves doing the same thing over time. 

“We, uh- we ate some bad hot dogs.” 

Willie’s face seemed to go through a series of emotions in less than a second. He settled on laughing a little, albeit hesitantly. “Hot dogs?”

Alex huffed out a laugh of his own, looking down to the table. “Yeah, it, uh. . . I know- it sounds stupid, right? But we. . . Our doctor told us it was the most severe case of food poisoning she’d ever seen.”

Alex heard his own tone going sad at the end of his sentence, and Willie’s smile sobered up. Alex glanced up at him, and though Willie was watching him was a sadness in his eyes, it wasn’t the pity or humor he was used to receiving from the other students at school. 

“That really sucks, man,” Willie said. Alex just shrugged. He wasn’t really sure how to talk about it with people who weren’t Luke, Reggie, or Julie. 

“Anyway,” Alex said, “I don’t know. Ever since we got out of the hospital, I’ve just been on edge, I guess. Nothing in particular really happened. Things are  _ good,  _ actually. School is fine, my band is going really great- we even have a gig tomorrow. I just. . . can’t seem to calm down.”

He wasn’t sure why he was telling Willie this. It just seemed natural to talk to him. 

Willie shrugged. “Things don’t have to be going bad to feel like that. Sometimes the brain just works like that.”

Alex looked down, smiling at Willie’s words. Every time this guy spoke, he just seemed to be getting better and better. Alex cleared his throat to stop himself from blushing under Willie’s gaze, looking up at the skater. 

“So what about you? Why were you skating down Hollywood Boulevard like a maniac?”

Willie laughed at the teasing tone in Alex’s voice. 

They sat outside the ice cream parlor for what seemed like hours, talking about everything and nothing. Alex was a 17 year old junior at Los Feliz High School, and Willie was an 18 year old who in June had graduated from a high school on the other side of Hollywood. They talked about their families; Alex stuck to talking about his two younger siblings and avoiding any mention of his homophobic parents- it was way too early to dive into  _ that _ topic- and Willie talked about being an only child who usually had the house to himself since his parents frequently traveled for work. Alex sensed there was more of a story there than Willie was giving him, but considering they’d only just met, he let it be. They talked about Julie and the Phantoms and Willie’s favorite places to skate.

They joked and laughed with each other, falling into a sense of comfort and normalcy. They seemed to click pretty quickly with each other, and it made Alex blush a little to think about. Alex was in the middle of a sentence when he was interrupted by his cell phone vibrating almost violently against his leg. He smiled apologetically to Willie as he pulled it out to see whoever was calling him. Luke. Of course. It was like the guy was tuned in to interrupt Alex when he had moments like this. Alex let out a sigh, answering the call anyway. 

“Hey, Luke.”

_ “Alex!”  _ Luke’s voice sounded relieved, and also like he was scolding him.  _ “Dude! Where are you?” _

Alex frowned, “What are you talking about? I told you- I just went to clear my head.”

_ “Yeah,”  _ Luke sounded exasperated,  _ “Three  _ hours  _ ago. We’ve been trying to text you for like the last hour.” _

Alex pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment to see that it had indeed been three hours since he left, and he had about twenty notifications each from Luke and Reggie, as well as a couple from Julie. Alex grimaced a little as he put the phone back to his ear. 

“Shit, Luke- I’m sorry. I completely lost track of time.”

He shot Willie an apologetic look, but the skater just shook his head and smiled. 

He heard Luke let out a deep breath on the other end of the line. Alex felt a pang of sadness at the sound. 

“Luke, I really did just lose track of what time it was. I’m fine, okay? Promise.”

Luke had been the worst of the three of them since the hospital. Alex could understand why. He and Reggie had both been so out of it that they’d had no clue what was going on other than how awful they’d felt. He had no memory of passing out or the seizure he’d apparently had. Luke had been semi-coherent and watched them both start fading out. 

He heard Luke take another breath over the phone.  _ “Yeah. Yeah, I know. But dude, I mean- it doesn’t usually take you this long to clear your head.” _

That’s because his mind had been cleared from the minute Willie had slammed him into the sidewalk. 

“Look- I’ll head back to the studio right now, okay? I’ll be there in like half an hour.” 

_ “That’s probably smart. I’ve had to stop Reggie from taking a joy ride in your car like six times.” _

Alex felt his mouth drop open a little, “I swear to god, if Reg touches my car-”

_ “Calm down, Alex!”  _ he heard Reggie’s voice in the background.  _ “Luke and Julie hid the keys from me.” _

He could hear the teasing in both their voices and rolled his eyes at them despite the fact they couldn’t see it. 

“I’ll be there soon,” he finished the conversation, sharing a quick goodbye with his bandmates. As he slipped his phone back in his pocket, he turned to Willie with an apology on his lips. The skater stopped him by raising his hand between them as they both stood from the table. 

“Dude, it’s totally fine. I’ve had way worse endings to first dates than losing track of time.”

If Alex had had any ice cream left, he was sure he would have choked on it. He felt his entire body flush and knew his cheeks were bright red. 

“First, um- First date?”

Now it was Willie’s turn to blush, and he looked at the ground sheepishly. “I mean- yeah? Unless you don’t want- shit, I just thought- Sorry.”

“No!” Alex exclaimed, causing Willie to look at him with surprise at the outburst. “Crap, no, I mean- yeah. I want that. First date sounds good.”

Willie’s smile returned at his words, though it looked far more shy under his dusted pink cheeks. Alex let out a little laugh, smiling back at him. 

“Yeah?” Willie asked.

“Yeah,” Alex returned happily, feeling a new, but exciting level of awkwardness between them. God, what was wrong with him? He’d been on dates before, but it had never felt like this. Mushy and shy and heart beating too fast, yet comfortable and calming and feeling over the moon.

Willie took a step around the table, closer to Alex. 

“Cool,” he said, a little awkwardly, and it made Alex laugh. He fished in his jeans pocket for something, and came back with his phone, holding it out to Alex after unlocking it. 

“Um, your number-” Willie let out in explanation, and Alex smiled as he took the smartphone, opening contacts and entering in his phone number. After a moment’s hesitation, Alex entered a heart emoji behind his name before he could stop himself and put the device to sleep before handing it back to Willie. 

They stood there for a minute, sharing shy glances, before Alex took a sharp breath in. 

“Right, I should probably- um.” He gestured vaguely in the direction he knew Julie’s house was in. Willie smiled, nodding. 

“Yeah. I’ll, uh- I’ll text you later?”

Alex tried as hard as he could to hide the goofy smile he knew was forming on his lips. 

“Yeah, that sounds perfect.”

“Cool,” Willie looked like he was hesitating for a minute before he darted forward, pressing a feather light kiss to Alex’s cheek. “I’ll catch you later, Alex.”

He didn’t give Alex any time to respond before putting his board down and skating off in the opposite direction. Alex faintly registered himself reaching up, fingers brushing over where Willie had kissed him. His skin felt hot and flush to the touch. Holy shit. 

That had just happened. 

He’d just had a date- a  _ date _ \- with the cutest guy he’d ever seen. He’d just given Willie his number. And Willie had kissed him on the cheek. 

He was almost tempted to pinch himself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. When he realized he was just watching the path Willie had skated down and the fact that Willie wasn’t even in sight anymore, he shook his head, resetting himself in a way. With a smile he couldn’t get rid of if he wanted to, Alex turned to start walking back to Julie’s. He guessed the day turned out pretty good after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> A few things:
> 
> 1) I finally wrote something that isn't angsty!! Enjoy it while it lasts because next week is back to pain and heartbreak!!
> 
> 2) FOR CLARIFICATION because it'll come in handy later: This story takes place in mid November, so a few months into the school year. The characters' ages and school years are as follows:  
> Luke - Junior - Recently turned 17  
> Alex - Junior - 17  
> Reggie - Junior - 16  
> Julie - Sophomore - 15  
> Flynn - Sophomore - 15  
> Willie - Recently graduated - 18  
> Carrie - Sophomore - Recently turned 16
> 
> This is mostly because I didn't want to write senior year and the boys graduating. We may see Julie's 16th birthday later on, or it will at least be mentioned. I also know Reggie may seem young for a junior to some people, but it checks out enough for me. 
> 
> 3) I posted this way later than I wanted to, which I'm sorry about. I've had an absolute shitshow of a day and I kinda forgot it was Wednesday. 
> 
> 4) Thank you so so so so so much to everyone who's been reading these stories!! This series honestly means so much to me and it's my new baby, so I'm glad other people have been enjoying it, too! I love you all so much. 
> 
> 5) I was listening to Now or Never when I came up with the title and thought I was clever.
> 
> 6) Did you check the little easter egg in Willie's backstory? 
> 
> Next up: The rest of the band grow more and more concerned when Reggie doesn't show up to school one day. And he won't answer his phone either.


End file.
